The show on Saturday, March 14, is labelled An Elegant Evening with Alexander Zonjic and Friends, and can be enjoyed with or without dinner.

Tickets for just the concert are $25 at the door or by calling 519-734-1251. But if you prefer to enjoy a three-course meal along with the music, tickets are $100 and give you VIP seating. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the concert starts at 8 p.m.

A second Pat & Emilia

If you couldn’t score tickets to the sold-out premiere of Pat & Emilia, the new chamber opera, on March 13 at Willistead Manor, don’t fret.

You can still get tickets to the Detroit performance two days later, on Sunday, March 15, at 3 p.m., at the Scarab Club, 217 Farnsworth St., next to the Detroit Institute of Arts. Cost is $22 at the door, $18 in advance, U.S. funds, and tickets can be obtained at the website, scarabclub.org/chambermusic.

You can also learn more about future performance plans by visiting the Pat & Emilia Facebook page.

Laughs on the move

Leo Dufour’s Komedy Korner has once more pulled up stakes and moved its operations, this time nearer the city core.

Windsor Sportsmen Club, 2401 Dougall Ave., is the new home after a short stint at the Oasis Lounge on Forest Glade Drive.

“We’re excited to be back in the city,” said manager Diane Dufour. “(It’s) a more central area, a spacious room, (and) big enough to bring names back into the city.”

Call 519-736-8269 for more information.

WCO tunes up

Windsor Community Orchestra, under maestro Peter Wiebe, presents its annual Concerto Showcase this Sunday, March 8, at 2:30 p.m. at Assumption Hall (formerly Assumption University Chapel), 400 Huron Church Rd.

The program consists of movements from Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and Elgar’s Cello Concerto No. 1, along with a concertino for alto saxophone by Weber, and two arias from operas by Ambroise Thomas and Mozart.

Tickets at the door are $10 for adults, $5 for students.

Artcite’s Burning Ones

A solo photographic exhibit by Montreal’s Alain Lefort, titled Seraphs/The Burning Ones, is now on display at Artcite Inc., 109 University Ave. W.

The large pictures are intended, in Lefort’s words, to bend “formal and conceptual delineations of traditional photography.” Not your typical holiday snaps, in other words.

The exhibit continues through April 25. Artcite, located next to the Capitol Theatre, is open Wednesday to Saturday, noon to 6 p.m.

Beam me up!

Fans of Space, the sci-fi cable network, have weighed in on their favourite episodes from the original Star Trek series, and they will air this Sunday starting at 6 a.m. (remember to turn your clocks ahead!) as part of a tribute to the late Leonard Nimoy.

The 12 episodes will air back-to-back and include such classics as The City on the Edge of Tomorrow from Season 1, The Trouble with Tribbles and Amok Time from Season 2, and The Tholian Web from Season 3.

]]>http://blogs.windsorstar.com/entertainment/ted-shaws-artbeat-alexander-zonjic-heads-list-of-local-activities/feed0Tara Sievers-Hunt, left, as Emilia Cundari and Jocelyn Zelasko as Pat Sturn in Pat & Emilia, a film by Pat Jeflyn and Kim Kristy.winstarshawTed Shaw’s Artbeat: All about freedom and cartoonshttp://blogs.windsorstar.com/entertainment/ted-shaws-artbeat-all-about-freedom-and-cartoons
http://blogs.windsorstar.com/entertainment/ted-shaws-artbeat-all-about-freedom-and-cartoons#commentsFri, 27 Feb 2015 19:30:49 +0000http://blogs.windsorstar.com/?p=446135]]>With Black History Month about to wrap up, TVOntario is screening The Greatest Freedom Show on Earth, a social history of the former Emancipation Day celebrations in Windsor.

Filmed mostly in Windsor, the two-hour documentary airs Saturday, Feb. 28, at 9 p.m., and again on Sunday, March 1, at 1 a.m.

It was produced by Halifax-based Orphan Boy Films and traces the history of civil rights in Canada and the U.S. and the evangelistic zeal of one man, Walter Perry, in realizing the dream of making the celebration a reality.

Funny man wins praise

Mike Kiss

Windsor native Mike Kiss is up for a writing prize at this Sunday’s Canadian Screen Awards in Toronto.

He is nominated for best writing in an animated program, Teletoon’s Grojband (pronounced “Garage band”).

Kiss has spent most of his creative life as a comedian and writer in Toronto.

Besides Grojband, he has written for such shows as My Babysitter’s a Vampire, Nickelodeon/YTV’s Max & Shred, and Scaredy Squirrel.

He is also a member of the Toronto sketch comedy troupe Somethingorothers, which will be performing next week in the 10th annual Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival.

Some scary thoughts

Two of Canada’s leading horror writers, Nick Cutter and Andrew Piper, will bring their frightening ideas to Windsor March 4 as part of The Dark Side II: Highway of Horror Tour staged by publisher Simon & Schuster Canada.

The readings will take place at The Windsor Star News Cafe, 300 Ouellette Ave., at 7 p.m. Books and refreshments will be available.

The event is hosted by BookFest Windsor.

Let’s boogie down

St. Clair College Centre for the Arts is bringing what’s billed as “Montreal’s hottest disco/funk show,” Boogie Wonder Band, to the Chrysler Theatre stage, March 7.

The band has released three albums since 1996: Fly, Kiss My Disco, and Supercool. Think of KC and the Sunshine Band with a French accent.

Tickets for the show and a dinner are $55 at chryslertheatre.com or by calling 519-252-6579.

Auditions for Korda

Auditions will be held Saturday, Feb. 28, and Sunday, March 1, for Korda Artistic Productions’ Devil Boys From Beyond, a spaced-out parody of 1950s sci-fi horror films. The auditions will be held at Korda’s home base, 2520 Seminole St.

Call 519-562-3394 for times and more information. This is a mature audience show — only actors 18 and over need apply.

Meet the Stars of Tomorrow

Windsor’s Dark Horse Productions rolls out the red carpet Saturday, Feb. 28, for some of its stable of performers.

Several singers in a variety of genres will put on a revue, Stars of Tomorrow, at Club Alouette Hall, 2418 Central Ave., at 7 p.m. You can get tickets for $20 at the door or by calling 226-246-9215.

Dark Horse is an initiative of Windsor performers and entrepreneurs, Rose and Colin Grey.

WCCA and U2

You can catch a glimpse of Walkerville Centre for the Creative Arts’ production Stories of the Joshua Tree, a revue based on songs by Irish rock band U2, on YouTube. Just type in Stories of the Joshua Tree in the search field.

The production opens this weekend at Walkerville Collegiate Institute’s auditorium, 2100 Richmond St.

]]>http://blogs.windsorstar.com/entertainment/ted-shaws-artbeat-all-about-freedom-and-cartoons/feed0An Emancipation Day parade moves through Amherstburg in the 1890s. (Windsor Star fileswinstarshawMike KissTed Shaw’s Artbeat: Kids’ writing series beginshttp://blogs.windsorstar.com/entertainment/ted-shaws-artbeat-kids-writing-series-begins
http://blogs.windsorstar.com/entertainment/ted-shaws-artbeat-kids-writing-series-begins#commentsSat, 17 Jan 2015 10:00:04 +0000http://blogs.windsorstar.com/?p=426910]]>Pamela Goldstein of the Windsor International Writers Conference is launching a writing program for children.

The course will be held over seven consecutive Saturdays starting today and running through Feb. 28 at Olde Walkerville Theater, 1564 Wyandotte St. E. The course is designed for children six to 11 years old.

She recently won the Alistair MacLeod Award for her short story My Grandmother’s Porch, at the inaugural Windsor International Writers Conference in November. She is also the author of two popular books: Zoo on the Moon and June Bug Jamboree.

Cost of the course is $60. For more information, call Goldstein at 519-730-0315.

Taping slated for Caesars

The Tenors (formerly Canadian Tenors) will tape a PBS special at Caesars Windsor Colosseum on March 12.

The group is a popular attraction at Caesars having had five sellouts there over the last couple of years.

The taping will be used at a future PBS pledge drive.

Tickets start at $20 plus taxes and fees and go on sale Saturday, Jan. 24 at noon at ticketmaster.ca and at Caesars’ box office.

Theatre Ensemble auditions

It’s not too late to audition for Theatre Ensemble’s June production of August Osage County. Mario Carnevale will direct.

Six males aged 30 to 69 and seven females 14 to 65 are required. No experience is necessary.

Auditions will be held at Green Room Theatre, E.J. Lajeunesse high school, 600 E.C. Row W., on Sunday at noon and Monday, Jan. 19, at 6:30 p.m.

For more information, call 226-346-7469.

Windsor Folk show

Taking a cue from Mississippi John Hurt, Canadian blues-folk artist Rick Fines blends a high level of guitar picking with some intriguing original songs.

The Rick Fines Trio performs at Windsor Folk Music and Arts Society’s next concert, Jan. 24 at 8 p.m. at Mackenzie Hall, 3277 Sandwich St.

Tickets $23. Call 519-255-7600.

New work from Dylan Pearce

Windsor film director Dylan Pearce (I Think I Do, Baby Blues) is tackling a 3D movie with his next project, a romantic comedy-adventure 40 Below and Falling.

Set in various locations in Alberta, the film will start shooting this winter with a mainly Canadian cast that includes Jewel Staite of TV’s Firefly and Serenity, and Resident Evil star Shawn Roberts.

Retirement learning

The University of Windsor’s UNI-COM Retirement Learning Centre offers a variety of five-to-nine-week courses for seniors starting Jan. 26.

You can learn about self-defence, photography, Canadian politics and much more.

For more information, call 519-253-3000, ext. 3430.

Artcite exhibit

Artcite Inc. is displaying the art of Bevan Ramsay, formerly of Montreal, through Feb. 21. Titled Soft Tissue, the show is a commentary on the cultural and economic factors that inform our response to meat.

His photos and cast mouldings are provocative and you may end up a vegan after viewing them.

Artcite is located at 109 University Ave. W. Phone number is 519-977-6564.

Scarehouse on VOD

Gavin Michael Booth’s horror film The Scarehouse, which was made in a warehouse in downtown Windsor, is now out on video-on-demand and iTunes formats.

The feature film was released last October. VOD is available on most cable and satellite services, including Bell, Shaw and Cogeco.

]]>http://blogs.windsorstar.com/entertainment/ted-shaws-artbeat-kids-writing-series-begins/feed0Dylan Pearce directs Melanie Scrofano for the movie Baby Blues. Pearce’s new project is a 3D romantic-comedy movie called 40 Below and Falling. (Windsor Star files)winstarshawTed Shaw’s Artbeat: New local books for Christmashttp://blogs.windsorstar.com/entertainment/ted-shaws-artbeat-new-local-books-for-christmas
http://blogs.windsorstar.com/entertainment/ted-shaws-artbeat-new-local-books-for-christmas#commentsFri, 19 Dec 2014 22:00:04 +0000http://blogs.windsorstar.com/?p=418056]]>If you’re looking for a last-minute gift, two Windsor writers will be signing their new books this weekend.

Elaine Weeks, editor and co-owner of Windsor’s Walkerville Publishing, is signing copies of her first work of fiction, Time Trespasser, Saturday, Dec. 20, between 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. at 1211 Monmouth Rd.

Time Trespasser is a science-fiction novel about a 19th-century slave owner who finds himself transported to 21st-century Memphis. The racial and social ramifications of this event make Time Trespasser much more than another Rip Van Winkle story.

Copies will be available for $10, and Weeks’ husband, Chris Edwards, will also be on hand to sign copies of Walkerville’s other local history books, including 500 Ways You Know You’re From Windsor, Windsor Then, and A Forgotten City.

Patrick Brode

Walkerville’s series of anecdotal history books have sold nearly 25,000 copies over the years, rivalling the likes of Marty Gervais’ The Rumrunners and the recently released From The Vault.

Patrick Brode, who has been chronicling Windsor’s history for many years, has just released The River and The Land on Biblioasis, the first of a series of three books about Windsor from its origins in the 19th century to the present day.

He will sign copies Sunday, Dec. 21, from the 2 to 4 p.m. at Juniper Books on Ottawa Street.

I was perusing it the other day and came upon a terrific account of Windsor and Sandwich during the 1850s and the years leading up to and during the American Civil War.

Talk about a wild border town, Windsor was a haven for escaped Confederate soldiers and alarms were raised in Detroit newspapers about the possibility of spies sneaking across the border. Even Abe Lincoln was made aware of it. It’s a fascinating, but little-known chapter in our history.

The River and The Land: A History of Windsor to 1900 sells for $29.95.

]]>http://blogs.windsorstar.com/entertainment/ted-shaws-artbeat-new-local-books-for-christmas/feed0Chris Edwards and Elaine Weeks with their book A Forgotten City at their home in Windsor, in this October 2013 photo. (TYLER BROWNBRIDGE / Windsor Star files)winstarshawPatrick BrodeArtbeat: East side, west side, all about the kidshttp://blogs.windsorstar.com/entertainment/artbeat-east-side-west-side-all-about-the-kids
http://blogs.windsorstar.com/entertainment/artbeat-east-side-west-side-all-about-the-kids#commentsSat, 18 Oct 2014 01:00:51 +0000http://blogs.windsorstar.com/?p=394160]]>Chris Rabideau’s production of West Side Story with a largely youth cast wraps up Sunday, and by most accounts, it’s a hit.

Skilled veterans of Windsor’s theatre scene John Anthony Nabben and John Whatley have seen it and declared it successful.

West Side Story is the first project by Rabideau’s ACT, or Arts Collective Theatre, a mentoring program for youth, and it grew out of theatre workshops held at the east side’s Walkerville Theatre over the summer.

There are two performances left: Tonight at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. at Walkerville Theatre, 1564 Wyandotte St. E.

Just joking

Leo Dufour’s comedy school at St. Clair College is about to get underway for the fall. If you want to learn the fine art of stand-up, or just how to tell a joke to family and friends, call 519-972-2711 and ask about registration.

Scary stuff

Windsor entrepreneur Paul Momney invites you to “step right in to the Windsor Haunted House” this weekend at 709 Ouellette Ave.

The place has been decked out in Halloween finery by volunteers from the University of Windsor and St. Clair College, and is guaranteed to scare your socks off. It’s open today at 7 p.m., and tickets are $10 at the door.

Art for all

The Association of Representational Artists are staging their annual show and sale at Windsor Crossing, 1555 Talbot Rd., unit 110, now through Nov. 2. This is great exposure for some of the region’s best representational artists, and a way to find that special work to hang in your home.

For more, call Mariano Klimowicz at 519-977-0729 and 226-347-7404, or Katrina Rutter at 519-252-0601.

Find Windsor Star on Facebook]]>http://blogs.windsorstar.com/entertainment/artbeat-east-side-west-side-all-about-the-kids/feed0Chris Rabideau is running a theatre mentorship program at the Olde Walkerville Theatre through the summer. He is shown Thursday, May 1, 2014, inside the Windsor, Ont. establishment. (DAN JANISSE/The Windsor Star)winstarshawMandy wants you and mehttp://blogs.windsorstar.com/entertainment/mandy-wants-you-and-me
http://blogs.windsorstar.com/entertainment/mandy-wants-you-and-me#commentsFri, 21 Mar 2014 22:00:25 +0000http://blogs.windsorstar.com/?p=325971]]>Crowd funding is the latest thing in fundraising for the arts, and Windsor’s Mandy Bo has issued a challenge to her loyal fans for support.

Bo is hoping to raise $5,000 a few bucks at a time so she can finish a mini-album and take her act on the road.

A young country artist in the style of Taylor Swift, Bo has raised about $500 so far in her Kickstarter campaign that launched Wednesday. Pledges will be accepted until Friday, April 18.

There are free downloads for her songs, Old Morty, Standoff and Lullaby on her site, mandybbo.wix.com.

Choirs to link arms

More than 100 singers, including 44 high school students, will collaborate on a pair of choral extravaganzas the first week of April in Windsor.

First up is a performance Friday, April 4, of Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, as well as other works, at All Saints’ Anglican Church, 330 City Hall Square.

The concert will feature the 75-member University Singers, under director Bradley Bloom, and a choir of 44 senior and junior vocal students from Walkerville high school’s Walkerville Centre for the Creative Arts.

The high school group will be led by Elspeth Maynard.

The major work will be Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, sung in Hebrew. As well, a Kyrie from a mass by Franz Schubert will be performed along with spirituals and traditional folk songs.

The concert begins at 7:30 p.m., with tickets $10 for adults, $5 for students.

On Saturday, April 5, at 7:30 p.m., the Walkerville ensemble will be joined by the University Chamber Choir and soloists for a rare performance of Verdi’s one-act opera, Suor Angelica.

The performance will take place at Walkerville high school auditorium, 2100 Richmond St. Tickets $10 adults, $5 students. For ticket information for either concert, call 519-253-3000, ext. 4212.

Soloists on the Saturday include sopranos Erin Armstrong and Amelia Daigle, and pianists Alde Caloncagong and Joanna Schultz. Tracey Atin, a voice teacher at WCCA, will direct the production.

Cerveni off to CMW

Windsor’s Mike Cerveni has been invited to perform at Canadian Music Week in Toronto, May 6-10.

The prestigious annual event is the place to go for up-and-coming acts looking for national exposure.

]]>http://blogs.windsorstar.com/entertainment/mandy-wants-you-and-me/feed0Country singer Mandy Bo is looking for your help to fundraise money to complete her mini-album and take her act on the road.winstarshawAll-star group heading to fall writers conferencehttp://blogs.windsorstar.com/entertainment/all-star-group-heading-to-fall-writers-conference
http://blogs.windsorstar.com/entertainment/all-star-group-heading-to-fall-writers-conference#commentsFri, 14 Mar 2014 23:00:37 +0000http://blogs.windsorstar.com/?p=323366]]>The first Windsor International Writers Conference in November promises to leap off the page with a Who’s Who of the written and spoken word.

Organizer Pamela Goldstein has lined up an impressive cast for the four-day event titled Writing Across Boundaries, Nov. 13-16, at the St. Clair Centre for the Arts. The festival follows on the heels of the annual Bookfest Windsor, Oct. 24-26, and Windsor International Film Festival, Nov. 1-9.

“We’ll explore the ethics of writing and how to tell a really good story,” Goldstein said.

Having attended writers’ conferences in the past, the Windsor freelancer decided it was time to put her home city on the same map.

She has lured some of the best in the business, including three acclaimed local writers — Windsor’s Alistair MacLeod and Christopher Paul Curtis, and Leamington’s Nino Ricci, all of whom will deliver keynote speeches.

She hopes to attract as many as 400 registrants, an ambitious number. But judging by the dozens from Michigan and other parts of Canada who have indicated they will attend, Goldstein is confident the conference will be a success.

“If you’re a published writer or want to be, this is a wonderful chance to rub shoulders with professionals and learn from people who are accomplished in their fields.”

Among the guest speakers already confirmed are:

Naomi Ragen, author of Jephte’s Daughter, The Sisters Weiss, and several other bestsellers.

Richard Sykes, assistant director of the school of broadcast and cinematic arts at Central Michigan University.

Dr. Eva Olsson, a leading writer, public speaker and Holocaust survivor.

Michael Greyeyes, a Plains Cree and associate professor of drama at Toronto’s York University.

Elliot Grove, founder of Raindance International and the British Independent Film Awards.

Constance Borde and Sheila Malovany-Chevallier, linguistic experts who have translated several English books into French.

There will also be a theatrical presentation of Pulitzer Prize winner Donald Margulies’ 1996 play, Collected Stories, which depicts a crisis of conscience when a student publishes a story with intimate details about her writing teacher.

Registration fee for the entire conference is $385 prior to May 25, $425 from May 26 to Sept. 1, and $500 after Sept. 1. For information go to the WIWC website, wi-wc.org, or email Goldstein at info@wi-wc.com.

Leal releases anniversary CD

Hugh Leal this week released a recording from his personal archives of the Motown Classic Jazzband, taped at the Montreux Detroit Jazz Festival 20 years ago.

“It was always my plan to release (the CD),” Leal said. “But the years went by and it got pushed on the back burner.”

The CD is titled Hugh Leal’s Motown Classic Jazzband: Live! At the Montreux Detroit Jazz Festival 1994. It features performances by his touring band at the time — Dave Tatrow on cornet, Chuck Moss on trombone, the late Frank Harrison on tuba, Paul Klinger on soprano sax and cornet, Rick Bryant on drums and Leal on tenor banjo. Joining them on three tracks is Detroit gospel singer Carl Temple.

The CD comes with two live bonus tracks by Leal’s current outfit, the Speakeasy Quartet, recorded recently at Mackenzie Hall.

Mail order copies for $15 are available at Hugh Leal, P.O. Box 681, Detroit, Mich., 48231.

Copies will also be for sale Sunday, March 23, at a 2 p.m. concert by Speakeasy Quartet at Essex Golf and Country Club, 7555 Matchette Rd., LaSalle.

The event is being staged in conjunction with Phog Lounge, next to the Capitol, and advance tickets ($15) available at Dr. Disc.

The feature-length film, more than two years in the making, looks at popular music and its influences and impact on the shared cultures of Windsor and Detroit.

Thursday’s multimedia event will also include live music by two of the main participants in the film, Grand Funk Railroad’s Mark Farner and Alice Cooper Band’s Dick Wagner. For more details, go to phoglounge.com.

Poetry panel

Biblioasis, the Windsor bookstore and publishing enterprise, is launching a new series of poetry panels to promote the work of lesser-known writers.

Taking its title from a story by Raymond Carver, the series What We Talk About When We Talk About Poetry launches March 22 at 4:30 p.m. at the store, 1520 Wyandotte St. E.

Moderator will be Windsor writer and poet Robert Earl Stewart. The panel will include writers Zacharia Wells, Anita Lahey and Jason Guriel, who will be using the occasion to introduce their new books of literary criticism and essays.

The event is free. For more information about the participants, go to biblioasis.com.

Gaither gospel

Tickets for adults range from $31.25 to $78.25, seniors and children 12 and under, $26.25 at wfcu-centre.com.

Water narratives

Windsor artist Sherry Campeau has collaborated with the Unifor Windsor Regional Environment Council to launch a collaborative project that documents the historical importance of the watershed in southwestern Ontario.

Campeau is involved in Living and Learning Through the Arts, funded by the Ontario Arts Council, and Walkerville Art Studio.

Her project titled Walpole to Windsor to Pelee: Watershed Narratives will be officially launched Monday at 10 a.m. at Broken City Lab’s Civic Space, 411 Pelissier St. For more information, call Campeau at 519-560-3986.

A literary history

Rosalind Knight, a Kingsville writer, will launch her historical novel, That Summer at the Mettawas, at King’s Landing in Kingsville, Saturday, March 29 at 1 p.m.

The novel is set at the turn of the 20th century at the former Mettawas Hotel and Resort, built in 1889 by distillery tycoon Hiram Walker to entertain his American friends and tourists.

The sprawling structure was torn down in 1903, but it remains a vivid part of the town’s history and a group has proposed establishing a park near the original site to memorialize it.

Knight is a retired high school English and creative writing teacher. That Summer at the Mettawas, her first book, is a fictionalized history of the hotel and is loosely based in part on members of her family.

It is published by Windsor’s Cranberry Tree Press in a handsome paperback edition, graced on the cover by an archival picture of the Mettawas. The book sells for $14.95 and can be purchased from the author at rosalind_knight@hotmail.com.

Find Windsor Star on Facebook]]>http://blogs.windsorstar.com/entertainment/ted-shaws-artbeat-music-poetry-and-more/feed0Jon Gillies, right, and Dusty D'Annunzio have made a film about the Windsor-Detroit music scene called the Border City Music Project. (DAN JANISSE / Windsor Star files)winstarshawTed Shaw’s Artbeat: ‘Big things’ for theatre mergerhttp://blogs.windsorstar.com/entertainment/ted-shaws-artbeat-big-things-for-theatre-merger
http://blogs.windsorstar.com/entertainment/ted-shaws-artbeat-big-things-for-theatre-merger#commentsFri, 28 Feb 2014 23:00:19 +0000http://blogs.windsorstar.com/?p=318501]]>In a move that could shake up Windsor’s theatre scene, three active companies have merged under one banner and plan to share resources.

The group consists of John Anthony Nabben’s Theatre Ensemble (formerly Theatre Intrigue), Mario Carnevale’s 12.13 Productions, and Joe Cardinal’s Cardinal Music Productions. They have decided to retain Theatre Ensemble as the name of the new initiative.

“I think this has a real chance to succeed,” said Carnevale. “Joe and John are the true artists in the group, and I believe I bring more of a business sense.”

The plan was hatched in a darkened booth at a local family restaurant.

“We went in there to have pasta and thrash out the details,” Carnevale said. “When we got there, the place was packed. I turned around later and everybody had left. The staff was waiting to close up.”

“We kind of used the model of the Stratford Festival,” said Carnevale.

A full slate of about eight shows a year are planned, with the groups sharing resources such as lighting, sound equipment, costumes and rights costs.

All shows will be produced at the 400-seat theatre in E.J. Lajeunesse high school, 600 E.C. Row W.

Eventually, said Nabben, Theatre Ensemble will co-ordinate student activities, a professional theatre division, and even film production.

As a high school drama teacher, Nabben hopes to develop close ties with Windsor’s post-secondary institutions, University of Windsor’s school of dramatic art and St. Clair College’s musical stage program.

“I know it sounds pretty ambitious,” Nabben said. “But we have big plans for this group.”

One of Theatre Ensemble’s first orders of business in its new form will be to host the Western Ontario Drama League festival, March 10-14, the first time in 30 years the event will be held in Windsor.

Among the five finalists is Carnevale’s production of Driving Miss Daisy, presented in conjunction with Windsor Light Music Theatre.

Prices inaccurate

The price range for tickets listed in Thursday’s Scene Page article about WSO’s Tino Popovic applied only to Friday’s concert at the Capitol Theatre.

Concerts tonight at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. are priced as follows: $25-$62 adults, $20-$50 seniors, and $12-$40 students. Call 519-973-1238, ext. 2, or order online at windsorsymphony.com or mywso.ca.

Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students, at the door or by calling 519-253-3000, ext. 4212.

The annual Alumni Showcase takes place next Friday, Jan. 17, at 7:30 p.m. at Mackenzie Hall, 3277 Sandwich St. W.

The concert features music graduates and current or former faculty. Participants include Erin Armstrong and Christina Turingia on vocals, Marc Funkenhauser on saxophone, Steven Dearing on guitar, Allen Levack on bass, and Philip Adamson and Joanna Shultz on piano.

The Majestic Brass of players from the Windsor Symphony will also perform. They are Bob Fazecash, Brian Zanier, Bernadette Berthelotte, Corey Fitzpatrick and Mike Stone.

Tickets are $15 adults, $5 student, and can be ordered in advance at 519-253-3000, ext. 4212. For more information check out the website, uwindsor.ca/music.

Korda auditions

There are auditions this month for the next two stage shows by Korda Artistic Productions.

Today (Saturday) and Sunday, from 4 to 6 p.m., open auditions will be held for The Beaver Den, a Canadian musical about a failing TV kids’ show. Mostly males in their 20s or 30s are required.

The show will be staged at Kordazone, 2520 Seminole St., May 9-17.

Auditions for Shakespeare’s Othello will be held at the theatre Jan. 25 and 26 by appointment only. There are 15 roles available for men and women ages 18 to 65. The lead role of Othello will be filled by an actor of African descent in his 30s to 50s.

The play will be staged Sept. 12 to 21. To book an audition, call 519-562-3394.

Tribute acts at Caesars

The music of ABBA and The Beatles is the focus of a couple of tribute acts heading to the Caesars Colosseum in April.

Arrival, on April 4, performs hits of the 1970s Swedish sensation, ABBA, including Dancing Queen and Mamma Mia. Tickets start at $20.

On April 17, it’s The Fab Four, one of the world’s top Beatles tribute bands. There will be two shows, at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m., to accommodate anticipated ticket demand. Tickets are $15 and up.

Ballet auditions

The Royal Winnipeg Ballet will be in town Jan. 20 for a round of auditions for its ballet school in Winnipeg and prearranged master classes.

The event takes place at Edmunds Towers School of Dance, 2555 Jefferson Ave. To register, go to the website, rwb.org/school/audition. Auditions and classes take place in both English and French.

Windsor’s Tania Angelovski, 15, meanwhile, has won a $2,000 scholarship towards her studies at the RWB school.

She obtained entry into the program in 2012.

Jazz in Leamington

Ian McGregor Smith and Friends is the featured band tonight in The Bank Theatre’s Jazzed Up January program at Know Presbyterian Church in Leamington.

Show time is 7 p.m. Tickets $12 at the door.

Otto Buj’s latest

Windsor filmmaker Otto Buj has served up another music video for Detroit player Ethan Daniel Davidson, titled Ain’t the Man I Used to Be. This is his third short film project for Davidson.

The video is taken from the album Silvertooth, which Davidson released in 2012, and completes a trilogy of films. Appearing in the video as an automaton is Detroit actor and musician Dan John Miller, lead singer of Blanche, and an actor with credits in such films as Walk the Line and Leatherheads.

The video, and its two predecessors, are available on YouTube, and the album is available for free download at silvertoothmusic.com.

Exhibit at Artcite

Windsor’s Jennifer Willet has designed an exhibit inspired by the July 2011 BioARTCAMP in the Canadian Rockies, and launches it at Artcite Inc., 109 University Ave. W., next Friday, Jan. 17.

The exhibit titled Natural Science runs through March 1. For details, go to artcite.ca or Willet’s site, jenniferwillet.com.